Pumping at work

For the last few weeks I've undertaken the daunting task of trying to pump at work. I have an office with a door, which I didn't have at my last place of employment, so I should feel a little more privacy. I should also feel more comfortable since I can pump there rather than behind those closed door in a cramped--and let's face it, dirty--toilet stall.

As the days have gone by I've come up with little tricks and things to do to make the process as comfortable as possible, given how very unnatural it is. When I first started pumping ages ago I couldn't achieve let down--it just wasn't the same as being with my baby and, frankly, I felt like a cow.

Now that I've made peace with the pump, with its unnaturalness, with feeling like a milk machine, the only thing I have to contend with is how weird it feels to pump at work. I mean, it's one thing to have your boob hanging out around the house or to expose your bra, or, heck, to expose yourself in general, but it's a very different thing to do it at work, even behind closed doors.

I get the strangest feeling I'm being watched, even though I know I'm not (although there is mention that the house in which I work is haunted, so who knows!). I feel like someone could barge through the door at any minute, even though it's locked. And I feel like I'm imposing by not having the door open all the time--in my line of work I need to be available to people.

Yet, despite all this, I've made great strides towards pumping enough breastmilk and often enough for my baby. And that feels pretty good. There were so many times when I thought, gee, this is NEVER going to work. But the truth is if you keep at it, and are consistent, you will see results.

I just hope I don't have to have the conversation about what I'm doing behind closed doors twice a day with my very new male boss. I don't think he'd mind--and certainly he'd understand--but I'm a little too embarrassed for some reason at the point to bring it up in conversation. I know that's my issue, not his.

Well, we'll just have to see about all of this. At least things are moving in a positive direction.

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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)

I got to pump in a conference room, and there was no lock on the door. Needless to say, someone walked in on me. Doh!

And then there was the time I was washing my pumping equipment in the kitchen sink (supposedly you need to do this right away and not wait until you get home). A co-worker coming in for some more coffee asks me what I'm washing, and before I'm done with my first sentence, he's high-tailing it out the door. Apparently he found it a tad embarassing.

I even had a co-worker in the cubile next to me (male) tell me it would be ok with him if I pumped in my cubicle. Of course, this from a guy who uses an electric shaver in his cubicle.

You might find you'll get less "queasy" about doing it in the office, and you might even enjoy a few laughs out of the whole deal.....10 years from now.

Well, if you do decide to mention it to your manager, which I recommend, just be totally upbeat and fast-talking about it and very matter-of-fact or even mention it like you assume he already knows since he knows you have a baby, after all. Like, "Well, about time for my pumping break!" or something. Or "Yes, I talked to Y just a few minutes ago and we talked about that when we bumped into each other--he was taking milk out of the fridge, and I was putting it in!"

Heh...I pumped exclusively for my daughter (and let me tell you that was no fun). When I went back to work when she was 8 weeks old, they had NO arrangements. Even the bathroom was out, as there was no electrical outlet. So I pumped in the car (pump had an adapter for the lighter outlet).Even though I put the sunshade up, and tried to keep a blanket draped over my shoulder, I still felt like I was exposing myself.If I had been able to actually nurse, I'd have had no problem with nursing in public, but pumping...that's different.

I totally know what you mean...My boss is super nice and he's only a couple of years older than me so its kinda like working with my brother. as a courtesy to him I told him I would be in the bathroom 2-4 times a day pumping and I thought he was going to climb under a rock! he was like I DON'T NEED TO KNOW THAT just do what you gotta do!!! and I always felt like I was being watched...I just couldn't get over the fact that my boobs were out IN THE OFFICE never mind that I was locked in a bathroom and nobody could see me...I still felt like I was being watched its just a creepy feeling. :)

I pumped for 10 months (3 months - 13 months) at work, in a file room without a lock on the door (without a outlet either, so with an extension cord that snaked out under the door to the closest outlet TO the file room).

If you really feel uncomfortable with everything hanging out there, you could throw a knit/fabric poncho over the whole deal. My grandmother crocheted all her granddaughters ponchos when they came back into style a couple of years back, and I used it for that--it covered up everything pretty nicely. Not really because I was looking for additional privacy, but because the file room had an air conditioning system on crack. It was only about 60 degrees in there.

I was lucky in that my employer has an actual lactation room set up for their 200 or so corporate employees. At any given time, there's usually about six women who go in there on a schedule. Everyone who wants it is given a key and slot on the schedule. Only half an hour, but it counts.

The room has a glider rocker, a table and a utility sink. It also has a washer and dryer, but that's mainly for the housekeeping department to use, but I used the dryer to quickly dry my hand towels after I washed out my pump parts.

At first I felt guilty about going in there since I wasn't punching out for it. But then I was just grateful and happy.

If you havent already, bring a small mama-brag-book with pics of your baby. It helped me letdown to look at pics of my baby while I pumped. And it helps you to focus on lactating and not on being at work! :)

Wow... I was lucky to have an office with a door that locked... and with-it, mostly female co-workers. I'd put a picture of a cow on my door, lock myself in, and hook up. I've gotta say that the Medela Pumping Free kit and bras were totally worth it.

Funny story: When my sister was nursing her son, she left him w/ Grandma and we went to Lollapalooza, where she really confused Security with her pump. She had to check it in, and for pumping, check it out and head for the scary potties. I helped hold things for her, and she pumped 'n' dumped, since we were... indulging... that day. ; )

I was in the military when I breastfed my first son. I pumped at work for 9 months. I worked in a small squadron - 60 people. 50 of them were men, 10 were women.

I never had any problems with pumping at work, but I think my attitude was key. I didn't try to hide what I was doing at all. There were 3 other breastfeeding moms when I was nursing, and we were plain as day about what we needed to do and when we needed to do it. We asked our male commander to buy chairs, a small table, and a screen, as well as an extension cord and power strip for the bathroom we pumped in. We'd all head off to the bathroom several times a day wearing our backpack breastpumps. We stored our breast milk in the fridge and freezer that held the squadron's food-and-soda fundraiser. On deployments or TDYs, we made the person running the tour find times and places for us to pump, and our co-workers would help us pack it up and mail it home, if needed. Some of the guys even offered to help carry our huge coolers full of milk. When things were really tough, we'd even hang sheets in the back of our buses or crouch in the back of government vans to pump, with other people right there with us.

Perhaps I was lucky: Most of the people I worked with had young children, and almost all of them either breastfed themselves or had wives who breastfed, so it was pretty much expected that I would, too. Some of the young, single guys were a little cautious of it, and some of the older men (who were generally in charge) were downright embarrassed about it, but I refused to let that daunt me. This is my part of my biological identity, and I'd be damned if I was going to be embarrassed about it!

It was very nice to have other mamas to pump with, though. Though a lot of work got done in the pumping room, there was also a lot of talk about children, mothering, and balancing that with work, which was so helpful. I wouldn't dreamed of giving up breastfeeding, just because I loved the company so much! If you can find someone to pump with, I suggest it; it's wonderful to have some support.

Also, if you have problems with let-down and getting enough milk, I really suggest a hospital grade pump. With my first, my PIS just didn't cut it for me. I needed the power of the hospital grade to make my body let the milk down.

I just returned to work and the world of pumping too. And I was having a terrible time with let-down, which made me anxious that I wasn't going to have enough food for my baby, which made me have more trouble with let-down. But I am fortunate to work in a place with a nursing lounge with a hospital grade electric pump--for some reason I get more milk with that than with my Medela Pump in Style. I also found that listening to a meditation cd helped me relax, as did making sure I had enough time to not feel rushed through the process.